showcase los angeles issue 290

Jul 2011

Welcome to the latest issue of Showcase Los Angeles, brought to you by Production Paradise. We present the very best of the LA visual media industry, with more information available in our dedicated Film and Photo directories.

Opus Reps (Opus Photo), founded in 2005 by Bobby Heller and Jorge Perez, is an innovative artist management and production company with a diverse roster of talent, recognised for its progressive fashion, editorial, music, celebrity and advertising clients.

In just a few short years, Opus Reps has quickly become one of the premier agencies for leading talent within the fashion industry. Its thriving roster of photographers, fashion stylists and art directors is at the forefront in uniting art, culture and commerce.

The company's long standing direct relationship with editorial publications, advertising agencies, fashion houses, record labels, movie studios and Fortune 500 companies has elevated it to one of the most respected in the business. Opus Reps sustains its commitment to supplying top talent and continues to set precedents within the constantly evolving fashion industry.

Zahara Reps is a Los Angeles-based commercial photo agency with offices in New York and Minneapolis. Since its inception in 1995 the company has been mindful of the challenges that brands are faced with, offering the best and brightest talent and bringing fresh solutions to the creative community. Zahara Reps recently expanded to include Minneapolis and New York reps, Virginia Plasz and Scott Evarts.

The company represents a roster of LA-based photographers whose specialties include animals, food, underwater, fashion and beauty, celebrities and music. Its photographers are not only award-winners, but are also excellent collaborators who come from diverse creative backgrounds. They work with some of the biggest clients, musicians and movie studios in Los Angeles creating unforgettable and magical images.

Artist Untied represents a very small group of highly creative and experienced stylists and make-up artists. Specialising in lifestyle advertising with leading photographers, agencies, producers and editors in the United States, England and Australia, the agency's artists are sought for their exceptional on set personalities, attention to detail, expertise and creativity.

Artist Untied is CEO/Creative Director Jon Lucca, President René Narducci, Artist Representatives Samantha Sommatino and Jennifer Wade. All rates are quoted on a per-job basis with the goal of providing a full estimate that works within clients’ budgets.

No-Name Productions is a full service still photo and TV production company. With an extensive nationwide network of premiere artists and celebrities, the company coordinates and manages projects with a deadline-driven technique, and is a one-stop-shop for catalogue, advertising, editorial and music videos, as well as TV projects such as B-roll video and reality shows.

No Name Productions has developed quality relationships with the top modeling and talent agencies, photographers, art directors, ad agencies and magazines nationwide. Its offices in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Palm Springs offer nationwide and international production service and coordination. Call 212 920 7880 (NY), 305 677 2583 (Miami), or 310 880 4546 (LA) for more information.

Porkchop Production Services, Inc. is a full-service one stop "boutique" production and casting company for advertising, catalogue and editorial clients worldwide. With 15 years experience in the photography industry, company owner and executive producer Jewely Bennett and her team of producers guarantee to make any production a stress-free, fun and under- or on-budget experience for their clients.

The company caters to all requirements, including providing high-end photography, talent casting, location scouting, budget management, accommodation, transportation, catering, equipment rental and crew booking. A 2500 sq. ft. daylight photo studio enables Porkchop to handle world-class productions, either in house or rented to leading international photographers. Its equipment company, Workhorse Productions, Inc., is ideal for loaded location vans, trucks, grip, camera, digital and production equipment.

Shawn Harrison and Audrey Norton joined creative forces 10 years ago to form Productions In The Sun, Inc., a full service photo production and casting company specialising in automotive and advertising photography.

The company has offices in Los Angeles, CA and Phoenix, AZ and produces photo shoots throughout the US and Canada. Shawn and Audrey oversee every aspect of the production process to ensure a smooth and successful production. Services include production management and coordination, estimating, budget management, location scouting, permitting, travel, casting, support crew and great catering and craft services. They have the ability to foresee issues, solve problems, take care of the smallest of details and ensure everyone is having a good time along the way.

Courtney Rust loves her job of telling stories through wardrobe and prop styling. Working with top ad agencies, magazines, catalogue houses, photographers, directors and costume departments, she feels lucky to have a profession that she didn’t even know existed back when she wrote her 2nd grade essay about wanting to become a fighter pilot.

For Courtney it is the details that tell the stories and showcase the concepts, and it is her goal to make all the elements in the frame work harmoniously together. She takes pride in her efficiency, resourcefulness, creativity and ability to roll with the punches.

A resident of Los Angeles for over 25 years, Damon’s love affair with film and photography began at the age of 16 and has continued ever since. After graduating from the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, he worked his way up the photography ranks before relocating to the West Coast in 1990.

Tim’s uncanny eye and visual expertise is equally effective whether shooting people, action, or products for ad campaigns all over the world. He has become one of the world’s premier photographers, recognised for his groundbreaking work for Porsche, Mercedes, Lexus, Land Rover, Toyota, Chevy and Honda.

John Early has been obsessed with light and photography since he was a child. After graduating from Brooks Institute of Photography, he journeyed to Los Angeles and assisted a number of top photographers for several years before opening his own studio in Long Beach.

Today, clients call on John for his unique vision and capabilities whether shooting automotive, products or liquids campaigns. John's images have been used for nearly two decades in magazines, brochures, billboards, TV, and extensively on the Internet. His vision and years of experience, combined with his "hand's on" approach to post production, are reasons why clients return year after year.

Julien McRoberts is an internationally recognised editorial and interior photographer based in Los Angeles and Santa Fe, New Mexico. For the past several years, Julien has travelled to various countries photographing the world’s cultures.

Her evocative photography captures a sense of place, an array of relationships across many cultures: moments of tenderness, joy, and sorrow but always with an eye to its magnificence. Her impressive portfolio ranges from ancient cultural rituals to revealing the decay of what were once modern desert towns.

Julien’s work has been commissioned by diverse and high-end clientele including National Geographic Traveler, New York Magazine, Amazon.com, Georgia O'Keefe Museum, The Territory Ahead, PopularPhotography and SunsetMagazine.

Specialising in food and beverage photography, Carl Kravats has been refining and honing his craft for over 25 years. Using his lighting skills, attention to detail and client-centered focus, he has earned his place creating images for food and beverage sales and marketing.

With his imagination, artistic sensibility and warm-hearted sense of humour, he creates a collaborative environment in his studio where art director, photographer, and stylist can work together as a cohesive team. Knowing that we eat with our eyes first, he effectively draws the viewer into the image.

A master of depicting unique and captivating subject matter, Caesar Lima's inspiration is derived from a singular drive to push the limits and evoke emotion through innovative photography.

With a Bachelors of Arts in Advertising, Caesar has always had an eye for the creative. With a passion and drive to depict unusual, even surreal images, his photography always evokes emotion. As a self proclaimed “non-purist”, his photography calls to mind imagery that is just outside of the box.

In recent years Caesar has received multiple accolades and awards including the 2011 Archive 200 Best Ad Photographers, 2010 IPA Awards, 2010 PX3 in Paris, 2009 IPA Award, 2009 Addy Award, and the 08 Spider Award, to name but a few.

Lennette Newell is a seasoned photographer, constantly experimenting with new concepts and bringing refreshing new images to her portfolio. Her kids, lifestyle and animal shots are from the heart, but when she mixes the specialties, the resulting images come straight from her imagination.

In her latest series Lennette takes advantage of her multiple animal skills to connect with some new fashion trends. The result is a collection of stunning images mixed with a sense of humour.

Lennette's latest assignments have taken her from coast to coast shooting for P&G, Del Monte and Purina.

Myron Beck has fascinated clients and colleagues alike with his approach to photography, gaining the respect of the advertising world. His work is brilliant, creating images from contemporary to classic.

With his wide range of subject matter including food, beverage, products, animals, people - even Cowboys & Indians - Myron creates unique moments that speak to the heart and soul.

Equally adept at shooting in the studio or on location, Myron is a master of light. His portfolio reveals a clear vision of an artist passionate about his career.

With over 20 years working in print and production, Radstone is equally yoked in both lobes. Always smoothly producing a finished photograph or film work, creatively, on time and on budget, his mission is to “Roll up my sleeves to produce great projects and to collaborate with great people.”

He is an intuitive creative thinker, a strong producer and seasoned director. He travels easily and is available for global bookings.

International photographer Tracey Morris is most accredited for her captivating work in the fashion industry. Based in both New York and Los Angeles, she has shot for high fashion, beauty and celebrity clients around the world.

“For me, an amazing fashion image is one that is unexpected. Emotion is the key that I pull from my subjects that allow for that unexpected moment. Fashion is limitless."

Tracey’s passion in life is her photography, and her remarkable ability for composition comes from within. She lives for emotion and movement of one's feelings, and her perspective enables her to captivate and seize that moment that people live for - the unexpected.

Wanelle Fitch has shot, directed, exhibited and published fine art and commercial photographic and video images globally for more than 25 years. She has a Master of Fine Art degree in photography from the Art Center College of Design, where she has also taught for the past decade.

Through the years she has been based in Manhattan, Sydney, Los Angeles and currently in Orange County, California where she has discovered her passion for sports photography.

Some of her recent clients include Alterna Professional Hair Care, USB Financial and Beckett Media along with her commercial clients in advertising, editorial, design, fashion, publishing and recording industries.

“In the language of images, the photographs of Art Brewer are known for speaking with penetrating truth, enlivened with an edgy wit. As a subjective experience, his images thrill us with their presence and bring us somehow back into ourselves.” Drew Kampion

Art Brewer began his career as a teen, shooting local Laguna surfers and freelancing for Surfer Magazine. A self-taught photographer who once studied with Ansel Adams, he has circled the globe countless times in pursuit of the world's best waves and the surfers who chase them. Art has evolved and has established himself as a top commercial photographer. These days the athletes meet him on location or in the studio for clients such as Esquire, Playboy, Quiksilver, Muscle and Fitness, Pepsi, Dasani, Surfer, DiscoveryChannel, AnimalPlanet, and more.